Universal and Blumhouse announced that cameras are rolling on their upcoming reboot of Stephen King's 1980 novel, Firestarter, last week, and Deadline has now revealed that Ryan Kiera Armstrong has been cast in the lead role and shared a first official still from the film.
The American Horror Story actress, who will also appear in Paramount's sci-fi flick The Tomorrow War, will play Charlie, the young girl at the center of the story who "develops pyrokinetic abilities and is abducted by a secret government agency that wants to harness her powerful gift as a weapon."
The role was previously played by E.T. actress Drew Barrymore in the 1984 adaptation.
Zac Efron (Baywatch, The Greatest Showman) is set to star as male lead Andy McGee, while Michael Greyeyes (Fear The Walking Dead, Wild Indian) will play the villainous John Rainbird.
King's novel tells the story of a man with psychic abilities who goes on the run with his daughter when a government agency known as The Shop targets them in order to harness their abilities. They soon find themselves being hunted by a lethal assassin named John Rainbird, and must go to extreme lengths to evade capture.
The script was written by Halloween Kills and Rectify scribe Scott Teems, who will also executive produce alongside Jason Blum, Akiva Goldsman and Martha De Laurentiis.
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